The Dodgers are Playing in The NLCS Again, Thanks to Everyone

The Dodgers defeated the Braves 6-2 on Monday evening in Game 4 of the NLDS to advance to their third consecutive National League championship series. Everyone contributed, but it was a special night for Manny Machado who homered and drove in four of the Dodger’s six runs. Postseason hero David Freese got the Dodgers the lead for good with a two-run knock, and the bullpen was fantastic. The Dodgers will play the Milwaukee Brewers with the opening game beginning on Friday night at Miller Park in Milwaukee. The Dodgers are playing for the pennant again and I am sorry that I ever doubted them. Their strategies may be somewhat unorthodox, but they work.

You can feel the buzz in the air throughout Los Angeles. The Dodgers are just eight wins away from a championship and four away from returning to the World Series. While they steamrolled their way to the World Series last year, this year was entirely different. The Dodgers have had multiple problems in multiple areas and are still going to the NLCS.

The Dodgers have had injury issues. They lost Corey Seager for nearly the entire season. Justin Turner broke his wrist in spring training and they lost him for large chunks of time this season. The Dodgers have had bullpen problems, and problems hitting with runners in scoring position. They’ve had trouble moving runners over, and problems with players underperforming.

Yet despite all of those issues, the Dodgers have persevered to make it to the NLCS. It’s really a testament to their amazing organization talent and depth. Everyone has done their jobs, from the players, to the coaching staff, and front office.

Sometimes we as fans can get a little too passionate. We’ve been starved for a championship for so long that we become accustomed to the losing and develop a negative attitude. I’m guilt of this myself. We begin to see the glass as being only half full and start to expect the Dodgers to lose. That’s why it’s so hard to be a fan. It takes a lot of faith and patience, and when you are so hungry for a championship you lose sight of this. That’s what happens when an organization goes 30 years without winning a title; the fans get a little ravenous. This is a golden era of Dodger baseball, and we should enjoy it.

I have the solution to this though. Just win the damn thing this year Dodgers. Perhaps we can also have more faith in the team. It’s ok to complain and criticize, but let’s remember how good the Dodgers are at the same time. This is a good club with a lot of experience. As we are seeing in this postseason, experience counts.

The Dodgers will open the NLCS on Friday night. Clayton Kershaw will take the mound in game 1. In the meantime while we have some down time, let’s take a look at some of the highlights from game 4, and some of the celebrations. Check out the condensed game above and some images from the clubhouse celebrations. Go Blue!

12 thoughts on “The Dodgers are Playing in The NLCS Again, Thanks to Everyone”

Scott, you are the blueprint (pun intended) for the Dodger fan who can challenge the team and still acknowledge and celebrate their achievements. It keeps them honest. And frankly, I think they needed to hear some criticism in the final stretch to help them flip the switch.

For all the curious Dave Robert’s moves we see far less of them now. The tie-breaker was managed expertly. I thought “who is this guy, this is one disciplined manager” But that does not erase some of the nonsense we witnessed during the regular season which made us question some of the moves. Those were just as legitimate then as they are now. They could have put themselves in a better position with just a few extra wins.

They have done a commendable job winning when they needed to. And I hope they can keep it going and get us a WS title. That will surely buy our trust for quite a few more years. Especially for the ones who are not completely on the SABR train. (like myself)

They made it again. It was not easy, but nothing has been this year. Unlike last year, this team had to really struggle to get where they are. Yueh is totally right. There are holes. The bullpen can either be brilliant or a gas can. The starters can be like Ryu and Kersh were in games 1&2, or they can flame out like Buehler did. The one thing that has been consistent all year is the inconsistency of the offense as a whole. Their BA with RISP is not very good. They leave a ton of runners on base, and they are too homer happy. They in my mind strikeout way too much. Too many hitters with huge swings and huge holes in those swings. They are going up against a team with a lot of hungry young players. And they are going up against a team with a very good bullpen. No getting past the starter just so you can get to the bullpen where you have a better chance. This teams pen is battle tested. The Dodgers won 4 of 7 during the season, but all that means nothing now.

Perused media guide a little. Some interesting stuff. Mostly how many guys who are in the media guide who are no longer Dodgers. Dylan Baker, Wilmer Font, Logan Forsythe, how we all prayed for that move, Henry Owens, Trayce Thompson, Yusinel Diaz, C.C. Lee, Mark Lowe, Zach Neal, all those guys were in the book either as on the 40 man roster or non roster invitees. Guys on the 40 man who made little or no impact included Rob Segedin and Adam Liberatore. Coletti’s players still outnumber FAZ signings or acquisitions, but FAZ is catching up. Most likely after this offseason he will have a larger stamp on the roster than the previous regime. Always interesting going back and reading about team history. We all know Cody set the rookie record for HR’s in a season last year passing Piazza, but he also passed Frank Robinson’s NL mark which was 38. Would have been nice to see a round number like 40, but that 10 day DL stint put the kybosh on that. Just think what he might have done had he been on the team the entire year. He was supposed to spend the entire year in AAA. Read a story today on yahoo where Adrian Gonzalez says he plans to play next year. Some team might pick him up as a DH. They also listed all the minor league champions in the organization and minor league all time highs for pitchers and hitters. Old friend Norm Larker holds a lot of the career records. Games, At Bats, Runs, Hits, Doubles and RBI’s. Jim Gentile holds the career HR record with 208 and Wayne Kirby is the stolen bases leader at 304. A guy named Fran Bonair had the highest average for a season at .436 in 1957 at Reno. Most HR’s is a tie between Greg Brock and Phil Hiatt who both hit 44. Most wins was Bill Harris in 1952 who won 26. He also holds the career record for wins with 133 and loses with 97. I have his rookie card somewhere. Think he came up in 1960. Not for long though. Very interesting reading.

There are no excuses. Both teams will be well rested and appear to be in good health. MIL has a powerful, consistent roster, LAD has an inconsistant, but deep roster.

Dodgers’ strength will depend on who makes the playoff roster.

The key as far as I am concerned will be the Dodger offense. The capability of this offense is there, evident by the rout of MIL in the regular season. The problem is consistancy. RISP must improve. Strikeouts must decrease. The Dodgers were given 27 free passes in the NLDS, but could not cash them in. Dodgers must take advantage of every single opportunity they get. The Dodgers need to get enough insurance runs, so the bullpen can cruise to vitory.

Will “The Smirk” deliver? That seems to be the X-Factor. We just don’t know who will be showing up. It is a game-by-game mystery. “Mr. Freese” is showing signs of his legendary post season heroics.

Bullpen looks good, it just depends on how DR manages them. Also depends on if the starters can gut out a strong 6-7 innings. Is Madson finally settling in?

Not happening Jerry and I will tell you why. 1. Bellinger is probably the fastest guy on the team and is a very good defensive outfielder. Bellinger also had as many homers and more RBI’s and a higher batting average than Pederson. He is a very good hitter against RH pitching. Kemp is a right or left fielder now. His CF days are long gone. Pederson does not play center anymore either. If Bellinger is not out there it is Kike or Taylor. And Bellinger is also the defensive replacement when Muncy leaves the game when he plays first. They are going to platoon players no matter what anyone thinks. That is their team mantra now. They go for the matchups. Milwaukee does not really have an ace pitcher and they will mix it up against the Dodgers. All we can do is wait and see what will happen. They will shake up the roster a little, but pretty much only on the pitching side. I doubt they will deviate much from who they used in the NLDS. But you might see Stripling and maybe Urias on the NLCS roster. I do not think they can afford to change any of the offensive players or reduce that number. They need that 5 man bench. Kershaw is pitching game 1.

The Nasty Boys. Mean bunch of guys. Dibble made a career in radio off of that little run they had. It would not bother me to see the Dodgers try that. They have a couple of guys in the minors, Broussard and Schlitter, who are pretty nasty. Broussard, high 90’s guy and Schlitter is a lefty with a real nasty sinker. He is a little older though. Any one ever wonder what happened to that Sierra guy? He kind of disappeared from the conversation. Possibility exists that Urias will make the NLCS roster. My problem with that is who are you going to take off the NLDS roster? I do not like it when they go to a 4 man bench and I think it really hamstrings you in a series like this. They have 3 guys down there who could pitch multiple innings in Wood, Maeda, and Ferguson. I do not think they need 3. And since Wood has been the least effective of the 3, I would contemplate putting Urias in his spot since Cingrani is not really ready to contribute. But I like the bench the way it is right now. Only weak spot is Barnes. His bat anyway. You know Soria was a Dodger for a few minutes.